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The nifty li'l devices contain much more than the basic Contact list and messages. They are storehouses of our favorite songs, stock our memorable pictures and even have space for our important documents/files.

One click of the button or tap of the finger leads us to our Facebook page, our Instagram feed or our Twitter account. And where do we even get started about the apps that fill up our home screen?

From apps that tell us about the happening hotspots in town to those that help us locate places in a jiffy, from apps that measure our footsteps and the miles we cover to ones that convert the screens of our phones into pages of books for us to read; the hundreds of megabytes of memory space don't take time to fill up thanks to these technological tools that make our phones smart!

The photography and photo-editing apps are another story in themselves and take up a big chunk of said phone memory.

And then comes the shopping apps! We can buy almost anything and everything under the sun with a few taps on our phone screens, thanks to every renowned website launching their own apps.

But, you have to download different apps for all your favorite websites and you can access only one at a time if and when you are in the mood to do some shopping from the lazy confines of your bed/couch.

But times are a-changing! And new technology's giving birth to bright new babies everyday!!!

I bring to you, the latest fashion toddler on the block - VOONIK!

This newly-launched fashion app is a dream come true for all you shopaholics out there! Voonik is a marketplace with a twist - it houses handpicked fashion & beauty products from all your favorite shopping portals under one roof icon! One tap of the finger will open up a world of fashion & style in which you can get lost for hours on end. Right from stocking high-street brands like Mango, Nautica, Vero Moda & Dorothy Perkins to having products of other fashion websites such as Jabong, Zovi & Done By None; Voonik is the one-stop app for all your fashion needs & cravings! :)

VOONIK lets you feed in your specifications in terms of skin tone, body shape & budget and stores that information so that their personal shopper engine can suggest you products based on that. [How cool is that, eh?]

You can create your own Love List of products and the app keeps updating you when any of the products on that list is restocked or goes on discount!!
What's more! You also earn credit when someone buys items from your Love List! #win

You can spend hours on this app, taking a pick of your favorite items from amongst a vast range of clothes - both westernwear and ethnicwear - along with various chic accessories in the form of bags, jewellery & shoes and a huge selection of skincare, haircare & beauty products!

Click, love, share and shop!

Most of the brands also have some alluring discounts going on for you to satiate your shopaholic yearnings without having to empty your pockets. :)

Does VOONIK sound too good to be true???
Install today and see for yourself!(You can thank me later!)

Since the beginning of this year, I had decided to do new things on the blog. I wanted to do new giveaways, fun collaborations, new outfit ideas & much more. But even then I hadn't thought of trying my hand at a recipe post!! Being the foodie that I am, I should have known this wouldn't be far behind! So ladies and (however few) gentlemen, here's the very first recipe post on this blog!!! *drumrolls*

We have had food review posts here before, but I hadn't quite gotten around to writing a full post on a dish I have rustled up on one of my rare visits to the kitchen (mostly because when I start cooking, am too engrossed in the process to take pictures! :P)

I grew up seeing my mom take care of all things within the four walls of the kitchen and I never felt the urge or the need to step into its premises to wield the colander...

During my short stay in Mumbai, where I worked for about 6 months, I had to cook my own food and I mostly made do with easy & quick staples such as rice, pulses, & eggs.

But, I guess our mind & our hormones keep track of the years ticking by and as I'm growing older, I'm starting to develop a strange affinity to cooking. Nowadays, the kitchen often beckons to me and we spend some happy moments together rustling up tasty noodles, crispy starters or yummy desserts!

So, when I thought of making some spicy Chilli Chicken for dinner one Saturday night, I was determined to make it into my first recipe post on the blog.......and here we are! :)

1. Cut the chicken into medium pieces. Boil them and marinate them with salt, pepper, a bit of soya sauce, ginger paste, garlic paste. Leave the chicken to marinate for 2-3 hours.

3. Heat oil in a pan (preferably non-stick). Dip the chicken pieces in a mixture of water, cornflour & flour and deep fry the pieces of chicken till golden brown. The light layer of the cornflour mixture makes the chicken more crispy. Once fried, remove them, drain the oil and keep them aside.

[I had fried the chicken a wee bit more than required. Make sure that the chicken doesn't get over-fried, as they'll be cooked later along with the vegetables too]

4. Heat oil again in the pan and sauté the vegetables together till they are lightly fried. Add salt and a wee bit of sugar for taste. I added a bit of oregano too, but that's because I love the smell of oregano in almost everything! :P

5. Once the vegetables are fried, add the fried chicken along with the required quantity of soya sauce, a bit of tomato sauce and a small amount of mixture of cornflour & water for a light saucy gravy. Cook till the chicken and the vegetables mix well with the sauce.

6. Voilà!! Your yummy & spicy Chilli Chicken is ready! Garnish with a few chillies and bell pepper pieces and see your guests drool at the mere sight of it!

I have been running around a lot lately.
Mostly on work. Online orders, new collections, new product ranges and even an impromptu exhibition.
And then, the rest of the time, trying to pick up the pieces of my broken dreams.[Don't know what I'm talking about? Read this.]
Needless to say, stress has been my constant companion. And sometimes I felt like running away from it all to go, meditate on the top of the Himalayas!
That's when my inbox awarded me with a surprisingly welcome e-mail. The wonderful people from the Four Fountains De-Stress Spa wanted me to review the services of the Four Fountains De-Stress Spa in Kolkata!
And the timing couldn't have been better!!! I was dying to de-stress...and an evening at the Four Fountains Spa seemed like a blessing (without any disguise)!

I made an appointment with them pronto and Friday evening saw me walk into the cool interiors of The Four Fountains De-Stress Spa in Kolkata. As soon as I set foot into the lemongrass-scented ambience of the spa, it felt like a part of my stress had chosen to stay back outside on the dusty roads under the sweltering summer sun.

Two very sweet ladies welcomed me at the dimly lit reception, and the serene Buddha figurines all around seemed to cast a spell by themselves!

There was also a plaque on the wall mentioning how each & every element of the décor including the aroma, the backrest of the seats & even the doorhandles was designed to relieve people of their stress! Impressive or what?

Soon as I was seated, a glass of orange squash appeared before me, along with a form I had to fill in with all my details. Next came a stress test by the in-house Dr. Manisha Jha and after much consultation with her, I zeroed in on the Relaxing Aromatherapy Message. :)

My therapist led me into a cozy room with low lighting, a spa bed, scented candles burning in diffusers and de-stressing quotes hung on the walls.
The Aromatherapy Message is carried out using essential oils such as French Lavender which helps in reducing anxiety and Ylang Ylang which relaxes nerves. During the therapy, the oils seep into our body through the pores while we breathe in their aroma through our nose - both culminating in the discharge of hormones that get rid of mental exhaustion & freshen up our mind.
The therapist worked deftly on my body, easing the tension out of my stuff muscles and opening up pressure points that I didn't even know existed! By the end of the session, I was almost lulled into the depths of sweet slumber....*sigh*

At the end of a little more than an hour, I took a bath in hot & cold water and came out completely rejuvenated & amazingly refreshed! I felt so light that I thought I almost glided out of the therapy room. :D

After reassuring all of the courteous staff that I have had a wonderfully rejuvenating experience and I'm totally going to recommend their services to all & sundry, I walked out back into the evening hustle & bustle of the city armed with some parting gifts from the Four Fountains Team - a diet & exercise guide brochure, a prescription booklet, a discount voucher for my next visit and a mini-jar of their special de-stress ointment!!
I came back home a happy & refreshed girl and I'm ready to enjoy the weekend and take on the coming week with renewed zest!

So, yes...I would definitely recommend the Four Fountains De-Stress Spa to whoever feels like they are being plagued by extreme mental tension or stress. Not only that, you can go try one of their beauty therapies for glowing skin or anti-ageing treatments!
Find the Four Seasons De-Stress Spa outlets all over India in Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangalore & Pune.

Now let me see when I can plan my next visit. My skin could do with some glowing & de-tanning, I tell you!

Anupriya DG

Being a designer & content writer by profession, stylist by passion and blogger by hobby; you'll always find me with my fingers deep in all sorts of creative pies. I'm a frequent flyer between the City of Joy Kolkata and the coolly cosmopolitan Bangalore, and both places are 'home' to me. Baking is my second love (I'm married to the first one), my stress-buster, my mood-lifter and the reason why no diet works for me. Come, journey with me as I take you through my eclectic fashion outings, adventures of my foodie soul, whimsical ramblings of the traveloholic me and anything else that might catch my fancy!For content writing, styling projects and creative collaborations, do drop in an e-mail at thestyleprism@gmail.com